NGC/IC Project Restoration Effort

===== NGC 2078. See NGC 2077.

===== NGC 2078 24" (4/9/08 - Magellan Observatory, Australia): this is the northwest component of an impressive 4' emission nebula filled with bright knots (LMC-N159), several of which form a curving "S" shape. At 200x and UHC filter it appeared as a fairly bright, moderately large glow surrounding a mag 12 star (B5 supergiant R148) and two fainter stars. This knot is elongated ~E-W, ~1.2'x0.8' and is encased in a fainter outer halo that extends perhaps 1.5', mostly to the north. NGC 2079, an extremely bright isolated patch, lies 1.7' S, NGC 2083 is a similar distance to the east, and NGC 2084 is 2.5' SE. R148 forms a 6" pair - not logged - with the optical counterpart (V~14.8) of LMC X-1, a 10 solar-mass black hole and variable X-ray source. Nearby is the impressive LMC-N160 complex with NGC's 2077 and 2080, another very bright patch of nebulosity, 6' N and NGC's 2085 and 2086, a smaller bright pair, a similar distance to the NE. This complex along with LMC-N159 is within the O-association LH 105.